I don’t suffer from the notorious second week NaNo slump. But I do I suffer from the 3rd week ‘where the hell am I going with this pile of drivel’ NaNo blues. And it is about to hit me.
NaNo writing tip number six
Just keep going.
This may need repeating.
Just
Keep
GoingAnd one last time: JUST KEEP GOING
My 2013 NaNo novel is called Chasing Credit. I’m aiming for 60,000 words by the end of November.
Writing is a solitary occupation, isn’t it? One of the great joys of NaNo month is the camaraderie of the online community of mad, write-a-novel-in-a-month, crazy writers. And, while making virtual friends is always fun, meeting people in real life is even better.
NaNo writing tip number five
Get out there and meet some other NaNo nuts.
Yes, check your local forum and see if there is a group meeting near you.
Nothing local? Consider crossing borders and going into another county. It won’t kill you.
My 2013 NaNo novel is called Chasing Credit. I’m aiming for 60,000 words by the end of November.
It’s the second week of NaNo and your words should be flowing freely.
But are they?
NaNo writing tip number four
If you’re slowing down: take a 20 minute break and get some exercise.
- Go out for a brisk walk.
- Put on some loud music and do some crazy dancing.
- Grab your trainers and jog around the block.
- Find a skipping rope, spin a hula hoop, or hop on an exercise bike.
My 2013 NaNo novel is called Chasing Credit. I’m aiming for 60,000 words by the end of November.
Here is a tip for those of us who started out with a vague idea of where our story was heading but, 7 days later, we seem to have strayed off on a tangent.
NaNo writing tip number three
Get back on track.
- Find a notebook with a blank page.
- At top of page, write a brief sentence describing where you are now in your story.
- At the bottom of the page, write a brief sentence describing where you want to be at the end of this chapter or section or, if you want to plan that far ahead, by the end of the novel.
- Jot down a few of the important milestones you need to pass along the way – maybe some you have already planned and maybe some that have only just occurred to you.
- Next time you sit down and take up the story, make sure you are heading towards that first milestone.
This tip will save you a world of pain as you struggle beyond the first few days of NaNo and suddenly realise you can’t remember a single word of what you wrote on day one.
Here is a tip for NaNo ‘pansters’ – yes, those brave people who sit down and write, without a plan. This tip will save you a world of pain as you struggle beyond the first few days and suddenly realise you can’t remember a single word of what you wrote on day one.
Yep, in the early stages it is fairly easy to read back over what you have done and to find those vital pieces of information.
But how will you cope when you get towards the end and there are 50,000 words to scroll back through?
NaNo writing tip number two
Keep a notebook. Jot down:
- The names of your characters as you invent them.
- A few descriptive features about their looks or their possessions.
- A time-line of key events, ages, dates.
My 2013 NaNo novel is called Chasing Credit. Got to get back to it…
Ruth Livingstone 